Article By Super Digital

So there’s a new craze that’s been going on for the last 3 months and you’ve probably heard about it. The world has gravitated towards a new audio only application called CLUBHOUSE.

I first got wind of ClubHouse on YouTube; where the video was recapping a heated conversation between Kevin Hart and fellow chat room participants. So you may be wondering just what is ClubHouse? Or how you can leverage it in addition to your preexisting online presence?

Currently ClubHouse is only available for iOS Apple iPhone users and has been around for about a year now. It was widely adopted by celebrities (particularly in the music industry), media and tech giants (like Elon Musk), and influencers worldwide last year during the pandemic. The exclusivity of the app seems to be a major draw as you can’t just sign up; you need to be invited or know someone on the platform already and have them send you an invite. Even more, once you’re all signed up, you only get 2 invites (more will generate overtime but I cannot explain the metrics behind that). So be sure that whomever you invite has an iPhone or you will waste your invite.

Sign Up Process

• Someone has to invite you; it’s the only way to join. So be careful because you have to provide your telephone number to join; hence why you should get an invitation from someone you know personally or well enough.

• Then set your account name. It has to be a two-name username. This should be your proper, legal name. But afterwards you will be able to enter a “Creative Alias” (like your artist or business trade name, which will be more prominently displayed.) When you join a room, only your first name will be displayed and your profile picture. This can be more comfortable for people who don’t like to sit in front of a camera.

*WARNING* You can only change your name once – same goes for the @ username and the alias, so choose wisely.

• Add a profile picture, bio, your website (or additional social media sites) and links to your Instagram and Twitter.

• You’re In – now start following people and topics that interest you.

• If a person or room you follow starts or joins a conversation you’ll be notified, so you can join in *tap the bell on their profile*

There’s been multiple incidents reported centering around users actually selling invites to eager users who want in on the app. One person reportedly sold an invite for $5,000. Of course ClubHouse does not condone this type of behavior. But honestly, Is it really that serious though? Well another draw is the networking power that comes with ClubHouse. You never know who you may meet and there’s been accounts where users have landed deals and contracts or general networking to achieve some business goals and or added exposure.

Again ClubHouse is audio only so besides updating your username, profile picture, biography/information, Twitter/Instagram link, and titles for chat rooms and clubs; there’s no text or video input when using the app. You can enter public rooms and listen. There’s a button where participants can “raise their hand” to speak if they are not a part of the panel conversation directly. In my experience with being on the app I’ve found an assortment of clubs; from ones where the hosts play LoFi music and artists/song requests, conspiracy clubs, meet and greets, how to’s, tech development, music industry forums, crypto clubs, etc. Each room or club is based on the hosts preferred topics of choice. Clubs are created once a user hosts three rooms; then they can create a club where members can nominate their followers to join. So again there’s no stories, no videos, no text posts. Just talk.

It’s all quite interesting to say the least. Just like any other social networking platform ClubHouse is what you make it. There’s drama, there’s motivation and inspiration, and any topic of interest else you could possibly think of; there’s a conversation happening about it. All conversations are in real-time and no conversation is saved or able to be redistributed by the app itself; so users will have to developers their own methods to “capture the moment” perhaps for social media promo or content marketing to add to their online presence.

For me I like that there’s only real human users on the app. No bots or fake accounts to clutter up the network and that makes for building an authentic audience with engagement and traction. Here’s Some ideas for your own Clubhouse room;

• Talk with your fans or other people in your industry.

• Host an open mic or song battle if you’re into entertainment.

• Share news, content or music with users in real-time.

• Talk about your favourite topics of interest. Maybe start a book club or reviews for tv and film programming.

• Artists could perform with your band to live stream a concert, your rehearsal or recording session

• Influencers could do a live track-by-track of select artists and their latest project and talk through the inspiration behind the songs.

• There was actually a live audio adaptation of “The Lion King”; with a cast of 30 plus and members across 20 cities!

So the sky’s the limit; you can be creative as you like. At the moment the audio quality is improving but ClubHouse does have a “Music Mode”, which helps make the sound quality in your room better when the app detects your phone is connected to a microphone or iRig.

Again lol All conversations in Clubhouse rooms will not be recorded. If you attempt to record the conversation or screen record on your phone you will get an alert *advising that it’s against the community guidelines to share recordings without the host/speaker’s permission and it will lead to your account being deleted. Although if you are  the host of a room and want to record the conversation be sure to specify that in the title of your room, and also add the red recording dot emoji; so your listeners and potential speakers can have a heads up and give consent.

If you enjoyed this read then leave a comment if you are not on the platform and we will work something out with getting you an invite. If you’re already on the app and want to know more, each Sunday at 6:30 (CST) the STONER BABY FAMILY are hosting our ROUND TABLE SUNDAYS; where we come together to reflect on the week & have some direct discussions with our participants + showcase some artists, highlight some businesses, shout outs, etc.
https://www.joinclubhouse.com/event/P9619bwX

Join the discussion “🥂 Round Table Sundays 🎙” with Deshaun Blunt, Millz ThaMilli, @GDubtheKing, @1dopechef, @kRYSsC_CaSsY, @stonerbaby808, and Chris Lollie. Sunday, Feb 28 at 18:30 CST on @joinclubhouse. 

Mahalo!